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Scientific name: Theobroma cacao

Common name(s): Cocoa; Cacao

Name as shown in Phylogenes: Cocoa

Ploidy: Diploid

Description:

Theobroma cacao also known as cacao or cocoa, Is a small evergreen tree in the Malvaceae family. It is one of the top 10 agricultural crops world wide and is the main component in chocolate. It is native to tropical regions of the Americas and was first cultivated in Central America over 2,000 years ago. Cacao features prominently in ancient Aztec and Mayan mythology as a revered gift of the gods and ritual offering.

It is primarily grown for its seeds, which are used to make chocolate and cocoa oils. The fruit pulp is also used in some countries to produce juices and jellies.

Reference(s):

Motamayor JC, et al. The genome sequence of the most widely cultivated cacao type and its use to identify candidate genes regulating pod color. Genome Biol. 2013 Jun 3;14(6):r53. doi: 10.1186/gb-2013-14-6-r53

Genome Database(s):

https://www.cacaogenomedb.org/

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